Biography of an Amazon
by Clouderous
Summary: Mousse what? Turns into a grill? No wait, a girl! Somehow this story was made ..
1. Happiness Doesn't Exist

Thank you for taking the time to read this fic.

Your review will be gladly appreciated and hoped for.

Well, I've never really written a story where a guy changes into a girl, though, I've read some. And I guess everyone needs to have written at least one of these kinds of story XP

- - -

Nerima was a great and beautiful city to behold again. It seemed so many ages ago that he set foot from this second home of his with Ryoga. He certainly longed for his cherished Shampoo and new friends; and was especially excited to see Ranma.

God.

It was a miracle that he actually made it back at all. Ryoga certainly wasn't the most appropriate partner for the treacherous trip that they had taken through China in hopes to find the infamous Jusenkyo Springs. The trip in total lasted a little over five months, a little long for his tastes, but the time was well spent. He learned a great deal about the Springs that the knowledge he had about the place before seemed to be just a drop on the bucket.

See, they had learned a little secret; a secret that could change their lives forever. It was something so incredibly powerful that it was starting to drive them nuts, making them bite their lips to the point of blood shed in the attempt to keep their mouths shut. But gods! He could finally live happily with Shampoo now. Once Ranma was out of the picture, he could cry tears of joy, not bitter tears of anguish as each time Shampoo spurned him as a sign of rejection. Oh how he couldn't wait to see Ranma. It was becoming almost too much to bear; this anticipation.

As a matter of fact, he and Ryoga were walking down the streets of Nerima casually; on the way to see their dear friend Ranma. Ryoga was carrying a steaming kettle filled with hot water as they both decided that Mousse might bump into something and drop the kettle. So it was Mousse who led the way to Ranma's house. He smiled cheerfully as he viewed the oh-so familiar dojo come into view.

His smile quickly disappeared leaving a surprised one in its wake as he was knocked into the dirt ground face first when someone landed on his head.

"Why Mousse, Ryoga, long time no see." Ranma stated merrily as if he was seeing his two best friends for the first time in decades. He placed his hands on his waist and bent down looking over Mousses head. "Where've you guys been?"

"Ranma! This couldn't be better timing." Ryoga said as he patted Ranma on the back with his free hand.

"What's up with the kettle?" Ranma asked curiously, still standing on Mousse's head.

Mousse was filling with rage. How dare he dishonor him on his first day back? He clenched his teeth and without warning jumped up with a mighty cry, throwing Ranma into the air, throwing some chains out thought his long sleeves to bind the pigtailed boy. "You'll pay for that Ranma!"

Easily avoiding the projectiles, Ranma landed neatly into a stance. "Just got back and already picking a fight?"

"I'll catch him, Ryoga. When I do, you know what to do." He told his partner as he attacked with more chains in his almost never ending supply of weaponry.

Ranma was very swift and it seemed almost impossible to catch him. Mousse was growing more frustrated by the moment as each attack was failing to seize his opponent. He had plenty of weapons left, but if this kept up, he'd run out without even touching Ranma. Deciding to go against the use of the chains; trying to save them for later, Mousse threw a line of daggers which Ranma simply jumped over. He landed inside the dojo walls near the pond and the large tree of the Tendo's yard.

"Didn't you guys train at all during the time you left?" Ranma taunted. "I could beat you in my sleep bound to a chair!"

"Come on Mousse! Get him already; I don't know how much longer this water's going to stay hot!" Ryoga cried from behind making Mousse sigh with frustration.

"He's too slippery! Just try throwing it at him!" Mousse retorted.

"We only have one chance, so we have to make sure we get him. Just keep trying. I'd like to help, but I gotta keep this safe." Ryoga replied, waiting readily and patiently for his turn to strike.

"What are you guys talking about?" Ranma asked, landing near the tree from all his aerial movements. "You guys sure seem determined… to loose!" Ranma stuck out his tongue at Mousse and Ryoga called back names. "Duck boy and piggy!"

"Shut up! Don't call me a pig!"

Mousse became heated with rage, annoyed that he couldn't even strike him.

"RANMA! Don't be such a jerk!" A loud voice shrieked from the dojo. It was Akane who just opened the door from inside. And although it was a little chilly, she wore a cute skirt. "They just came back from a long trip. Couldn't you show some manners at least once!"

"Don't start that with me, macho-chick!" Ranma yelled back. "They started it! And I have enough manners to go along with it! Sexless tomboy!"

Akane puffed her cheeks indignantly and was about to throw something near by at him when they both noticed sharp objects coming Ranma's way. Akane was about to scream out of concern for Ranma to pay attention to his fight, but it was too late.

Ranma dodged most all of the daggers that Mousse had thrown at him, but one caught the sleeve of his shirt and he was trapped for a mere second that Mousse took no time in wasting as his threw his chains around the tree trunk, binding Ranma to the rough bark.

"Ha, finally!" Ryoga cried joyfully as he leaped into the air and threw the golden teapot at Ranma's trapped body. He landed roughly a few meters in front of Mousse and waited for the impact.

Ranma glared at the oncoming kettle and knew that it probably wasn't some ordinary pot. Quickly, he reached as far as he could with his neck and smashed the side of the kettle with his forehead, sending it flying straight back at the person who threw it, Ryoga. There was a gasp and Ryoga suddenly dropped to the floor, surprising Mousse with his quick actions. Being behind Ryoga, he didn't see exactly what Ranma's actions were and had no time to react as the kettle exploded when it hit him and knocked him into the koi pond.

He was soaked. From head to toe, he was dripping wet, and the water wasn't even cold. It was hot and his clothes steamed as if he was being cooked. He was lying on the ground after he dragged himself from the shallow pool, so that it appeared that maybe he had been cooked after all. He fluttered his eyes gently, feeling the warm aura around him created by the water. The incident that just happened to him was vague in his mind.

"M… Mousse?" Ryoga stammered, anxiously waiting for a reply. He wasn't quite sure what the respond might sound like. He was disappointed that they didn't get Ranma, but also mentally kicking himself, harshly, in hopes that he didn't curse his friend.

"Wh… what's wrong?" Akane asked cautiously as she stepped down from the patio and slowly walked towards Ranma who was freeing himself from his bondage. Mousse was still human, but he was supposed to be a duck at the moment. Unless the koi pond was somehow warm, Akane couldn't see how Mousse was still… Mousse. "Ryoga, what's happened to Mousse, it's just a little hot water right?"

"Don't be so stupid Akane." Ranma mumbled. "You think they'd try to attack me with hot water? Don't be ridiculous." Ranma jumped over to Ryoga's slumped side. "This has gotta be some sort of trick." He stared at Ryoga who just watched the body of the Chinese Amazon.

Just as Ranma finished his speech, Mousse slowly stood up, wobbling a little, and feeling extremely… weird. _What the hell are they staring at?_ Mousse thought strangely when he caught site of all their eyes watching him. _Shit… please tell me they're not staring at me because…_ Mousse looked down to see his hands instead of wings. _Well, the water was hot when it hit me… but… I hope that the guide was lying to us now!_

Everyone stood up as Mousse rose to his full height. It was an odd feeling that stretched across his skin. Why did everyone seem so tall all of a sudden…? Shaking his head violently, he forced himself to think of something else. Shampoo. _What will she think of me now?_ In the back of his mind, he knew what had happened, but he chose to ignore it and act ignorantly.

"Oh, my…" Akane whispered. She was speechless at what she was seeing with her eyes. You'd think that she'd be used to it already, with Ranma and all, but this was just so unimaginable!

"S… Sorry Mousse." Ryoga spluttered and bowed deeply. He then jumped up, face flustered. "It… It wasn't my fault!" He said rapidly and pointed a finger at Ranma. "It was all _his_ fault! He did it!"

"Hey!" Ranma yelled back and smacked Ryoga in the head. "You cowardly pig!" He then turned back to face Mousse and grinned. Putting his hands behind his head, he looked at Mousse playfully and said "Well, at least you look pretty good as a girl."

-

Mousse sat off in the corner of the living room, drinking his green tea in silence. His wet robe clung to him where ever possible, and was overall too big for him now. _I could hold an arsenal of weapons now._ He joked to himself mockingly. He faced away from the people sitting around the table and his hair fell to cover his face from view. It was longer now; not exactly. He was just smaller now.

"So…" Said a bored Ranma.

"What happened on your trip Ryoga?" Akane asked softly, pouring tea for the now blushing Ryoga; happy that Akane was serving him. "How did you get Mousse to stay as a girl forever?"

At the sound of the word "forever", Mousse sighed deeply and took a sip of his tea. Akane turned from him sadly and encouraged Ryoga to tell the story, since obviously Mousse wouldn't say a word to them. He wouldn't even be inside the dojo if he hadn't tripped on his oversized robes trying to run away.

"Well…" Ryoga began, taking a sip of the tea thoughtfully. "It all started about five months ago…"

…

"_There's got to be a way to defeat Ranma! I'll never find true happiness if I don't defeat him!" Ryoga cried to the stars._

_"Ryoga! Is that you up there?" Mousse cried from below. Ryoga was sitting on the top of someone's house and Mousse just happened to have strolled by. He jumped promptly on the roof next to Ryoga looked at the stars too. "I couldn't help but hear you yelling at the sky."_

_"Oh." Ryoga said flatly._

_"I want to teach that Ranma a lesson too." Mousse added._

_"Should we try teamwork again?" Ryoga asked as a joke._

_"He'll just beat us again later. We have to take care of him for good." Mousse said seriously. "I think I know how, but I'll need help."_

_"What is it?" Ryoga said, mildly interested in what the Chinese man was planning._

_"We have to go to Jusenkyo again." He stated._

_"To that hell hole? No way. I don't think so. I don't think I want to risk turning into something worse… like a mouse or duck." He said as he stood from his sitting position._

_Mousse ignored Ryoga's comment about his curse and stood up along with him. "I'm serious. I remembered something from when I went last time." Ryoga didn't seem to care and was about to walk off when Mousse said something to him. "This way will get rid of Ranma forever and you can get Akane." Mouse started. "It's a guaranteed way! Just hear me out."_

_Ryoga perked his ears and turned around. "Forever?"_

"So Mousse and I journeyed to China again and in two months, we arrived at Jusenkyo." Ryoga explained, watching the deeply engrossed eyes of Akane, and the easy going ones of Ranma. "The guide met us there."

"_Greeting good sirs." The Jusenkyo guide said. "Beware springs here. They carry powerful curses in each of them!"_

_"We know." Ryoga replied softly._

_"That's why we're here." Mousse finished. "I remember coming here one day on a hot summer's day. You warned to especially not come near the springs on such a hot day as that one was."_

_"Yes yes." The guide nodded. "Warm spring waters extremely dangerous!"_

_"We want to know why." Ryoga asked, rather demanded._

_"Good sirs, if splash with warm cursed water, you will stay that form forever, even when splashed with hot water." The guide said hauntingly._

_"Good." Mousse said smiling. "Please bring us some water from any spring you choose."_

_"Why not get yourself?" The guide asked._

_"Oh, well, we'd rather be surprised." Ryoga added with a twisted smile._

"Who knew it was water from the drowned girl spring." Ryoga laughed and faced Mousse. "You're quite lucky huh Mousse?"

Mousse glared at Ryoga and turned back to his now wet corner. What a stupid idea it was to go in the first place. He should have known that nothing good would have come from using the cursed water. He was a little grateful that he was still human though.

"So, does that mean Mousse can never turn back into a man?" Asked Akane.

Ryoga nodded slowly but opened his mouth. "But with the naniichuan, we can all be turned back to normal!"

"All? Are you cursed too, Ryoga?" Akane asked shocked.

Ryoga noticed his mistake and shook his head rapidly. "No no no…! I'm not cursed. I mean 'we all' as in a group. I just have team spirit and tend to forget that I'm not cursed! Ha ha ha. What I meant was Ranma and Mousse, and everyone else who's cursed as well!"

Ranma rolled his eyes and blew stray hair from him eyes. Akane only nodded understandingly. "You're such a good friend to them, Ryoga." Ranma almost fell from his already reclining position on the floor. He couldn't believe that Akane was so thick.

Suddenly, Mousse turned around and crawled to the other three. He couldn't stand it anymore. Placing the tea cup on the low table, he asked gently for more tea, making himself sound more delicate than what he was. When Akane nodded and reached for the tea pot to refresh his drink, Ranma sprang up to lift the pot into the air. It was hovering over Mousse's body for a second before Ranma poured it over him. Mousse winced and grimaced from the hot… really hot… water.

"So you really can't change back?" Ranma said while watching the tinted water run down the Amazon's now small body. Ryoga backed away and Akane frowned furiously at Ranma.

"Ranma, you jerk! Don't do that to him! Stop it!" Akane screamed as she wrestled the pot from his firmly gripped hands. "Can't you see that he's depressed? You are so insensitive you heartless jerk!" She huffed angrily and chucked the pot directly at Ranma's face, who fell backwards holding his nose painfully.

"God, you tomboy freak. I can't believe I'm engaged to a maniac like you." Ranma glared at Akane and she just returned the glare right back at him.

"Ranma! Prepare to die!" Mousse cried out as he stood up, his robe hanging extremely loose around his small frame. He took a step forward, but slipped backward when he tripped over his long robes again, landing with a thud on his back. Ranma laughed at his poor excuse of an attempt at revenge.

Footsteps could be heard coming from outside the living room and Kasumi and Nabiki entered, concerned with what the entire racket was about. Kasumi brought her hands to her chest as she surveyed the room with a worried expression on her soft features. Nabiki looked like she was about to tell off who ever was creating the ruckus.

"What's wrong Akane? I heard you scream." Kasumi said with a concerned smile.

"You're not beating Ranma up again are you?" Nabiki said flatly, staring at the boy holding his face.

"Yeah she was!" Ranma yelled.

"Well maybe you wouldn't have gotten hurt if you didn't pick on poor Mousse!" Akane retaliated, smacking Ranma again across the back of his head. "He poured hot tea all over Mousse, Kasumi."

"That was a little mean and childish, dontcha think Ranma?" Nabiki said casually toward the fuming martial artist who just turned his head away.

"Oh, poor Mousse, but who's this young lady?" Kasumi asked as she kneeled by a dazed female Mousse, holding the dripping wet person in her lap.

"Um…" Nabiki uttered, recognizing the long shiny hair and Chinese robes, but it was a girl who was in those clothes. She stared at the three teens by the table and they nodded their head. Nabiki was shocked but relaxed when she found a chance for some blackmail money later. "Kasumi, I think that _is_ Mousse you're holding."

"Oh." Kasumi said startled. "He's all wet. We should get him some change of clothes."

"We tried earlier to get him to change, but he won't do it." Akane explained.

"Why don't you just force him? Doesn't look like he can fight back in his condition right now anyways." Said Ranma. Akane looked at Mousse lying on the floor and nodded to Kasumi. Kasumi just smiled knowingly and asked if Mousse could borrow any of Ranma's clothing. "I barely have any clothing at all, and I don't think they'll fit him."

"They fit you don't they?" Nabiki quipped. "Or do you just don't want to share?"

Ranma frowned at her. "Why don't you make him wear some of your clothing then?"

"I don't think he'll want to dress as a girl. You sure didn't." She replied, but then added "You do it anyways," making Ranma blush angrily.

"Ranma, could you help me bring Mousse into my room?" Kasumi asked sweetly. "He looks my size, I don't mind lending him a pair of my clothes." Everyone turned to look at Kasumi who just smiled cheerfully. Mousse wearing Kasumi's clothes! It was such a crazy idea that they just had to see it through! Mousse would be even more girly looking than Ranma!

"I've gotta see this." Said Ranma. "So of course I'll help you, I'll even choose an outfit for him." He smiled evilly. Now he could get revenge for all those surprise attacks on him and he just wanted to see him in a girls' outfit. He rubbed his hands together and chuckled.

Nabiki recognized that laughter and went over to Ranma and whispered in his ears. "I'm sure you want to blackmail him, dontcha? I'll get pictures of him for ten thousand yen each!" Ranma looked at her bewildered. No way was he gonna pay ten thousand for each picture she'll take. "Fine fine… six thousand each then. Just come to my room when you want to buy them." She left to Mousse's side and smiled at Ranma. "Aren't you gonna help?"

Ranma huffed and lifted Mousse into his arms. Wow, he thought. Mousse was a lot lighter than he had imagined.

-

Mousse woke up leisurely, opening and closing his eye lids every so often, trying to remember what hell had just happened. He remembered he was happily drinking his tea, well sort of. Then he became really angry, probably at Ranma… most definitely. Then he was here, in someone's room watched the ceiling fan go round and round.

He brought an arm up to shield him from the light, expecting his large sleeve to do the job well, when he noticed his arm felt very light. It was as if some weight was magically transported elsewhere. "Ughh." Mousse then covered his eyes with his hand, and felt his skin touch skin. What!

Mousse bolted straight up into the unsuspecting face of Kasumi who didn't even flinch at Mousse's rapid movements. Mousse however jumped back, hitting the wall, and slid down toward the soft mattress on which he was lying on earlier. He looked up to find Ryoga, Ranma and his fiancé, and her two sisters staring at him. He glared at them all and stood up from the bed when he realized that he felt really light.

"What the hell?" Mousse yelled when he finally looked down at what he was wearing. His hands were no long covered with his oversized sleeves, but instead, sleeves from a light blouse ended at his wrists and a soft peach colored dress ended a little past his knees, different from his pants and robe that covered past his feet even.

"Why, Mousse, I didn't know you could look so cute." Ranma said cheerfully. "We do some really good work huh?"

"What do you mean? You didn't do anything at all? You kept trying to tie a bow in his hair." Akane said flatly.

Mousse brought his hands behind his back to feel his hair. As his hands ran down his long hair, he did notice a bow in it. His hair was tied at a low ponytail. The bow was lopsided as well, but that didn't matter because he pulled it off and threw it in Ranma's face.

"Where are my clothes?"

Kasumi put a hand to Mousse's shoulder and he sat down reluctantly under her gentle touch. "They're being washed and hung to dry."

Mousse sighed deeply and raised his head. "How long have I been out?"

"Oh, about a few hours." Ranma said. "We spent a long time figuring out what to make you wear. Ryoga stayed outside the whole time though. Heh."

"You should have stayed outside too Ranma. Not very gentleman-like you know." Ryoga scolded.

"Oh, What do you know about being a gentleman?" Ranma quipped back.

"More than you!"

"Will you two cut it out already!" Akane said getting in between the two boys. "Come on Mousse, you must be hungry. We all are. I'll make us all something delicious to eat that'll cheer you up in no time!"

"I don't think he'll be any happier after eating your cooking. If you wanna live, don't touch what ever Akane's making." Warned Ranma. He patted Mousse on the back and closed his eyes while Mousse watched the floor. "I understand how you feel, being cursed as a girl and all. But it's not all that bad." Mousse trembled angrily and stood up next to Ranma, looking at him straight in the eyes.

"How could you understand? This is permanent; I can't even turn back with hot water! You little…" He suddenly stopped dead in his verbal tracks. He was looking up at Ranma, even when he was at his full height at the moment. He couldn't very well say 'little' to him. He was always the taller one out of everyone, except when it came to Kuno. It felt strange looking up at Ranma, even at Ryoga who just stood there casually. He wasn't even standing up straight and still he was taller.

Mousse turned away and muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said go away, Ranma. I don't want to see your face!" Sobbed Mousse, who was trying hard to fight back those tears that just couldn't be held back and leaked out the corner of his eyes.

"What… I'm just trying to make you feel better. Don't be so ungrateful!" Ranma shouted before being hit on the head again by Akane and dragged outside of the room by his pigtail.

"Just come out when you're ready. Dinner should be ready soon and I hope you'll join us." Kasumi smiled sweetly and walked out the room with Nabiki.

Ryoga stood there silent but slowly walked towards the trembling body of Mousse. He seemed so small and fragile. Looking down at him, he remembered all the times they were together, all those battles they fought together in. He felt ashamed at himself for allowing the cursed water to hit the Chinese Amazon. Why didn't he just stand there and take the hit?

"Mousse… I'm… I'm really sorry." He said meekly. "Please forgive me."

"I know it's not your fault." Whispered Mousse. "It was my dumb idea to go back to Jusenkyo in the first place." He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "Just leave me alone."

"Come on… Mousse… don't cry. You're making me feel bad." Ryoga laughed pleadingly.

"Yeah sure, you feel bad." Mousse turned around just as more tears spilled out. He looked up at his partner in crime. His eyes were watery and his face was flushed red.

Ryoga's heart almost skipped a beat. Whoa… he thought. Mousse was really cute as a girl; probably even cuter than Ranma's female form. He certainly acted cuter than Ranma as he was always being a huge pain in the ass. Mousse was acting like a girl as well, crying tears of sorrow with a sweet delicate face.

Something ticked inside him and he couldn't figure out what to say next. All of a sudden, he grew nervous and couldn't stand still.

"Well… um… i… if you're okay… I mean… when you feel a little better… go eat something. I'm going to join them… um… yeah… my, doesn't it smell good? Well… yeah… see you later." Ryoga spluttered and dashed out the door.

"Weirdo…" Mousse shrugged it off and dried the last bit of his tears. Ryoga's strange act of kindness actually made him feel a little better. "I better go back to the Cat Café soon. Cologne'll be angry at me for skipping work for so long and Shampoo…" He had trouble thinking about Shampoo. "I'll go tomorrow." He sighed and left the room, thinking of ways to hide his new found form.

- - -

Thanks for reading. Please review. :)


	2. Fight or flight!

Read and Review

In Response to some of your reviews, I never really intentionally made this a Ryoga/Mousse. So, I'm sorry if I confused you. There's really no true plot to this story, much like the original Ranma storyline. XP

Hmm, and about the water one, I don't really know. Hm... "reverse- Ranma"... XP Well, my story isn't like that so, oh well.

Notes: I will stick with how Americans write, so no "ou" just "o" like.. Ryoga.

I feel I'm making Ranma and Akane hate each other a little too much. I think I'll try to back away from that.

**EDIT **

Okay, some one has said that it would be better for everyone's interest if I started using "she" for the characters whenever they are female. So that would include Mousse, Ranma, etc. This would stray a little for how I see them, BUT, if you want me to continue the story using "she" from now on, PLEASE tell me. I might not write it until I know. Lol. I really don't care if I like it or not, but if you all would prefer that, then I would really like to know.

- - -

It was pretty early in the morning, but the Cat Café was probably already opened, getting ready for its customers. The sun had barely even risen past the horizon and yet, it was still late. Mousse was expected to be up before the sun to make sure the restaurant was clean, organized, and suitable for guests. Plus, he always had mountains of dishes that never seemed to get any smaller.

Mousse, having snuck out of the Tendo Dojo, ran with the speed of a cheetah, but awkwardly. He had to roll most of his pants at his waist and the midsection of his robes were rolled up and fastened by his belt. Even his sleeves were rolled. Passing by a large window of a shop, he took notice of how lumpy he looked. He decided to tell them that he got fat. They would believe that. They wouldn't care.

He was approaching the Cat Café and he wasn't sure he wanted to go back. He had slept on a nice bed and was given comfortable clothes, even though they were girls' clothes. Maybe he should just run off and be a housewife. Mousse was more of the type of guy that just goes with the flow, well, unless Shampoo was in the picture.

Thinking back to Shampoo, what was he going to tell her? Would she be glad that he couldn't bother her anymore with vows of love? Maybe she'd like him better. It seemed unlikely that she'd hold back any contempt for him just because he had become a girl. So staying true to himself, he wasn't going to tell her anything. Besides, he didn't feel like talking to her anyways.

The Cat Café loomed over him. He really did not feel like stepping inside. Something was telling him to leave. Instead of listening to that voice, he went in and as soon his foot entered the entrance, he was greeted with a smack to the top of the head. Cologne, it appears, had been anticipating his arrival.

"You! Lazy boy! Why are you so late!" Cologne strode over to the cashier where Shampoo was counting the money they had made the day previous. The old woman looked back at Mousse, who had picked himself up from the ground rubbing his head painfully. He had grown accustomed to those beatings. In fact, there was probably an indentation in the shape of Cologne's staff on the top of his skull from all those whacks. Keeping his anger in control, he took a deep breath and bowed.

"I'm sorry."

"What's wrong with you? Got a cold?" Cologne asked, not at all trying to sound as if she cared or anything; didn't want Mousse to get the wrong idea that she deemed him important enough to worry about.

Lowering his voice, he replied with a "Yeah, probably."

Mousse got straight to work: washing the dishes. When Shampoo was overwhelmed with the serving, Cologne ordered Mousse to help with the serving. It was usually easy for Mousse to wait on the tables, but he had trouble this time. He kept tripping over his robes and dropping the dishes. This went on for at least two hours until Cologne dragged him inside the kitchen.

"Mousse!" Cologne shouted angrily hitting him over the head with her stick. "You cannot wear your robes while you are working at the Cat Café!"

"Duck boy break many dishes!" Shampoo added, holding two halves of a plate. Instead of throwing them away, she let them fall to the ground, shattering, and leaving them for Mousse to clean.

Cologne approached Mousse and began to pull on his robes. "Take them off and change into something less baggy." As Cologne began to tug at the robe, Mousse panicked and pulled against her grasp.

"No! Don't touch me!" Mousse half shrieked, stepping back from the old woman. He was desperate to keep his identity from those two as they would criticize him the most. They would also probably ship him back to China since there would be no point for him to stay here in Nerima anymore. He'd never be able to leave the village ever again! Although half of him didn't really care one way for the other, another half told him he didn't want to go back. He still wanted to explore outside of the village. There was another reason, except that, he forgot, but, he'd pick up on this thought later for Cologne was steadily winning the tug of war. "Let go! I… I'm warning you!"

"Just _who_ do you think you're threatening, boy?" Cologne looked as if she smirked, though, the loose skin around her face made it hard to distinguish a grin from a wrinkle. With one final yank, Cologne's strength hauled Mousse's body forward. As he tried to run away, Mousse tripped on the oversized robes and fell to the ground as Cologne wrenched it off him. He fell flat on his back, shutting his eyes tightly from the pain now aching in his head and heard a gasp. Realizing exactly what had happened; Mousse sprang up and covered himself, blushing like crazy. He didn't dare look up at Cologne or Shampoo.

"Great Grandmother, what happen to Mousse?"

Cologne stepped down from her walking stick and walked towards Mousse who was sitting on the ground with his head held low. "You went to the springs didn't you? You tried to find a way to cure yourself or to find a curse for Ranma, didn't you?"

Mousse didn't reply.

"Look at you now! Even less of a man than with your other curse!" Jumping up to the counter tops, she took a kettle that still had steam escaping from the spout and chucked it at Mousse's still frame. The water washed over him, enough to reverse the curse. He didn't change back into a man. She expected as much. Jumping back down, Cologne brought her hands up to his face and lifted his chin so that he'd look eye to eye with her. She looked at him sternly, smiling wickedly. "You know the rules, boy."

Mousse gulped. He knew what she was telling him. The rules were very clear in his village.

"Get cleaned up. While you're still here, you might as well keep working. Get a pair of Shampoo's clothes and-"

"Great Grandmother!" Shampoo yelled. "I no want to give Mousse Shampoo clothes!" Cologne only stared back at her and Shampoo "hmphed" and led Mousse to the back where their rooms were.

Once they were at Shampoo's room, she went to her dresser and looked for the outfit that she hated the most. It was a plain white long sleeved shirt and a pair of pants; very similar to what she'd wear for deliveries. The only thing was that it had diamond patterns that reminded her of Mousse. She tossed the outfit at him, glad that she finally got rid of them. Mousse caught them put didn't do anything.

"What wrong?" She asked, the bitterness in her voice making him cringe. He wanted to ask her if she had anything less feminine, but he supposed Shampoo wouldn't so he kept quiet. She sighed angrily. "Fine. I go downstairs." She was about to leave the room when she turned back to him, glaring. "You hurry up and leave my room!"

Mousse took his time changing. It wasn't as if he wanted to hurry and get back to his grueling job. It was more like a sentence than a job. The pay was bad and the hours were long. Deciding against dragging the time too long, he checked himself out in the mirror, sighed, and left for downstairs. As soon as he touched the bottom floor, a pair was hands grabbed each of his arms in a rough grip.

"Took you long enough." Cologne said, eyes narrowing on him. "Take him away boys."

"W… wait! What is going on here?" Mousse demanded, trying to free himself from the strong, very strong grips.

"I just called them from the port. The boat is going to leave in an hour so don't stall them."

Mousse looked at Cologne disbelievingly. He had only been gone for a few minutes, yet she could pull off a stunt like this so quickly. "Wh… what… who are these people!" He demanded.

"They are here to take you back to China, Mousse." Cologne said nonchalantly. "You can no longer stay here in Japan. Since you are a woman now, you are bound to the village by our rules." She waved her hand, signaling the men to take Mousse away.

Mousse wouldn't go willingly and struggled harshly in their grasps. She called out to Cologne as she was dragged towards the exit. "Let me go! Cologne! How could you! I can be cured! I'm still a man! Don't send me back to the village!"

"Hold it!" Cologne said and Mousse sighed with relief. "Mousse, let me tell you something. I don't care how you cursed yourself. As long as you are female permanently, you are to follow the rules of the village. If you truly do not want to return, I suggest you go and get yourself defeated by an outsider. Otherwise, I don't want to see you here or hounding Shampoo anymore." Once she finished her speech, she turned her back on him and the men began to drag Mousse away again.

Mousse glared at Cologne's back angrily. "Why you… HAG!" Using his Amazon skills, he yanked his arms from the men's hold and leaped away, holding his ground in a corner of the restaurant. Taking a hand to hand combat stance, he was prepared and ready for the upcoming clash. He wasn't going to just let them take him without a fight. What kind of warrior would he be?

"Don't be fool Mousse!" Shampoo rebuked, criticizing him. "You have no reason be here! Go home!"

Shampoo's words filled him with a rage foreign to his being. Her voice, her attitude… everything about her! Growling, he charged toward the men circled in front of him and leaped up into the air, using their bodies as stepping stones. They fell to the floor as he had landed on their vulnerable areas. The exit was now clear in his sight and he ran, aiming for it. Just as he was about to reach the exit, someone stood in his way, arms spread out to block his escape.

"Stand down, Shampoo!" Mousse yelled angrily.

"No!" Shampoo glared back. "You go home one way or other, even if I beat you to do it!" She took her own stance, brining out her Bonbories. "You no can beat Shampoo, Mousse!" Shampoo was confident that Mousse would lose to her since he had never beaten her before. How could this time be any different?

Mousse scowled, knowing that Shampoo had probably underestimated him again. Stepping backwards he calculated how he was going to get past her. Shampoo wasn't a third rate martial artists and was definitely someone considered dangerous to cross. He was especially vulnerable without his hidden weapons. Although he considered himself adequate with hand to hand combat, his specialty was his hidden weapons and he obviously was low on them at the moment.

"What you do now?" Shampoo smirked, advancing on Mousse. She held a bonbory in front of her, pointing it at Mousse. "Give up now and make easy for us."

"_You _give up and make things easy for _me_!" Mousse shouted as he leaped into the air, gaining distance from Shampoo. Just as he arrived at the highest point in the air, he reached back into his hair and drew all the daggers he had hidden in them. He threw them one hand after the other towards the other amazon. Shampoo frowned at the attack and knocked them away with her bonbories, rendering them useless on the ground.

"Nice try. Now is my turn!"

Shampoo lunged at Mousse while he was still in the air and attempted to strike him. Anticipating the attack, he used his agility to dodge the weapon as best as he could, letting the blade tipped bonbory get away with only a few strands of his hair. They landed facing each other a few meters away.

The customers began to clap and cheer, believing that their battle was nothing but a mere show for them to enjoy. They soon began to root for either Mousse or Shampoo. Mousse smirked inwardly, if he had been a man at the moment, all the customers would have been rooting for Shampoo.

"You can't beat Shampoo Mousse, no matter how well you're doing right now." Cologne warned. She just stood back, waiting for Shampoo to finish the job. "Don't get cocky, boy. Shampoo, hurry up and knock him out so we can get back to work!"

"Yes, Great Grandmother!" Replied Shampoo as she charged Mousse once more, striking repeatedly at her defenseless opponent. Being one of the fastest fighters around, Mousse didn't have much trouble dodging each attack. Shampoo tried a finishing blow, holding one of her bonbories high into the air, smirking as she watched Mousse not paying attention to her other hand. She brought the other bonbory up, hitting him square in the chest and sending him into the wall behind him.

Mousse groaned as he picked himself up from the ground. His hair covered his frustrated expression. He could hear Shampoo coming closer to him as she walked over to where he sat. She held out her bonbory at Mousse once again and laughed. "I win. Now you go back to China."

Mousse clenched his hands, trembling with anger. "I will _die_ before I go back!" He had nothing against his hometown. If he had been born a female, he probably would go back, but his pride as a man kept his mind on the path towards the rest of the world. He shot himself into the air and flipped far over Shampoo's head, landing right in front of the exit. Without a glance back, he ran out of the shop, not caring in which direction, and tried to get as far away as possible. He didn't even bother trying to defeat Shampoo, he was just too desperate about getting away.

He ran until he wasn't sure where he was anymore. Everything felt familiar, but he just couldn't concentrate on where he was exactly. Is this how Ryoga felt? Never knowing where he was, yet feeling like he had been there before. As his breathing became course, he rested on a tree nearby, leaning against the rough bark. Just when he had shut his eyes, a deep voice brought him back to consciousness.

"Miss, may I inquire as to what you doing in that tree?" Mousse looked down to find a tall young man with a wooden sword held in his hand. It looked as if he was in the middle of training from the broken poles and targets around him. Mousse recognized him at once, for forgetting someone was not something he did often.

"You're Ranma's friend." Mousse stated tiredly. Peoples' names now, were something he could still work on.

"Hmph. I, Tatewaki Kuno, the "Blue Thunder" of Furinkan High, would never consider myself a friend of that lecherous coward!" Kuno declared. He slashed at a nearby target, imagining that it was Ranma in its place. "That clown would never stand a chance against me if he fought me fair and square."

Mousse rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure."

"I'm glad you see things my way." Kuno smirked, flipping some hair away from his face. "Now miss, would you be as kind as to let me help you from that tree. At such heights, it would be perilous if you were to fall."

"I'm fine, really." Mousse replied half heartedly.

"Please, a lovely maiden such as yourself shouldn't be taking such risks." Kuno crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe how sensitive he was sometimes. "Allow a gentleman like myself to assist you."

Mousse frowned, agitation bubbling under his skin. "I don't need your help, just leave me alone."

Kuno shook a finger at Mousse. "Now now, a young girl shouldn't speak rudely, especially to their elders." Mousse looked surprised. How the hell did he know that he was older?

Mousse jumped from the branch and settled a short distance from Kuno. He couldn't take being referred to as a woman any more. "Alright, that's it. Enough with the lessons."

"I see you are capable of managing yourself. Good qualities for a young woman." Kuno added.

Mousse growled, annoyed with this thick headed buffoon. "What? You think I can't handle myself?"

"No, of course not. I wouldn't judge one on looks alone. But a delicate flower, not unlike yourself, surprised me with such a strong spirit." Kuno said, smiling at his personal compliment.

"Delicate my ass, I could beat you with my eyes shut!" This new found annoyance sparked a new fire inside his body and mind. It was as if the tussle he just had with Shampoo never happened. He brought himself into a fighting stance, ready to teach this moron a lesson he'd never forget. "Come at me."

"I see." Kuno smirked, always ready for a challenge. He fell into his own stance, holding his bokken expertly within his grip. He was steady and held his territory firmly; a formidable opponent. "I accept your challenge, and should you happen to defeat me, I will allow you the pleasure of going out on a date with me."

Mouse flew into the air and aimed a kick at his face. "Who said anything about dating _you_!"

Kuno blocked the kick with his sword, throwing Mousse away from him with one swing. Landing lightly away from the swordsman, Mousse caught sight of a wooden sword next to his feet. He picked it up, confident in his skill to wield any weapon. It was amazon tradition to train in every weapon type. Holding the sword out in front of him, Mousse inched his way closer to Kuno.

"You jest. Surely you cannot think to defeat me with sword fighting. To challenge Kuno with the sword," he said, dashing toward Mousse, "is to chose defeat before you even start!"

Mousse swiftly moved to the side, hitting Kuno's sword upwards toward the sky, and attempted a kick at his gut before he had a chance to comprehend what had happened. Kuno, not letting Mousse seize the opportunity, lunged over his leg and landed neatly on the other side.

"Hey guys! Check it out! Upperclassmen Kuno is in a fight with some girl!"

Mousse cursed under his breath. This was just what he needed. He needed complete exposure like Ranma. Everyone will know his curse, in fact, that jerk Ranma will probably blab to everyone anyways. This thought about Ranma fueled his rage and anger. He felt more determined to beat this fool.

Kuno assaulted Mousse with a multiple of sword strikes which Mousse easily dodged. He wasn't some slow idiot like Ranma or Ryoga. He was proud of his speed and was able to out match anyone. Kuno jumped back away from Mousse and grinned, breathing hard and sweating.

"You're pretty good, possibly even as skilled as the pig-tailed girl herself." Although Kuno meant that to be a compliment, Mousse took it as an insult. How dare he compare him to that Ranma!

"Don't compare me to that trash!" Mousse hollered, grinding his teeth together. Suddenly, a giant rock came hurdling his direction and Mousse had to duck to avoid being struck.

"Who are you calling trash!" Ranma screeched, huffing angrily after having thrown that boulder. Just the sight of Ranma made Mousse want to puke, let alone the mentioning of his name. "Where did you go this morning? You left without a notice. That's not very nice you know. We treated you as a guest. We fed and clothed you, and what do you do? You go and leave without so much as a 'thank-you'!"

"Shut up! Why should I give you any thanks at all? You don't deserve it! You ruined my life! You deserve to be run over by a bus, that's what! Come and fight me Ranma- whoa!" Mousse yelped as Kuno's sword almost nicked the tip of his nose.

"You seem distracted; let me regain your attention." Mousse glared indignantly at Kuno, his anger quickly boiling over. Just as Kuno began to strike Mousse again, he was sent flying into the air by a vertical kick from Mousse. Kuno disappeared from sight and Mousse breathed heavily, resting his hands on his knees.

This anger was overpowering him. He was picking fights with everyone he met and that wasn't like him at all. He decided that it was all Ranma's fault. If Ranma wasn't there, Shampoo would have been his. If Ranma wasn't there, Mousse wouldn't have traveled to the cursed spring and have gotten cursed with the duck. If Ranma wasn't there, Mousse wouldn't be suffering so much at this moment. It was ALL Ranma's fault!

Mousse disappeared in a flash and reappeared next to Ranma, startling the pig-tailed martial artist. "Prepare to die, Ranma!" Mousse aimed for a punch at Ranma face, but when the fist reached Ranma's face, he connected with nothing but air.

"Hey, calm down there Mousse!" Ranma said from the top of an outdoor closet.

"Make me!" Mousse yelled in reply and threw the sword he was holding like a javelin at Ranma. It passed right through him. Then all of a sudden, Ranma's face was almost touching his.

"Look here Mousse. I don't know why you're so angry at _me_, but it wasn't _my_ fault that you cursed yourself!" Ranma backed away from Mousse and crossed his arms against his chest. "Got it? Don't pick a fight with me just because you're angry!"

"He's right Mousse." Akane said with a sad expression, having just arrived with the rest of her classmates. "We can help you overcome this, but you can't just go around fighting everyone you see."

"What do you know!" Mousse cried, tears starting to form at the corner of his eyes. "You don't know what I'm going through!"

"What do you mean? I'm cursed as a girl too, ya' know." Ranma scoffed, dumping a bucket of water over his head. He turned into a young woman instantly.

"That's different! At least you can turn back into a man! I'm stuck like this forever!" The tears were flowing freely now. Mousse no longer had the will to hold them back.

"It's okay Mousse. We'll help you." Akane said sweetly as she strolled over to Mousse's side. She held his hands within her own and smiled. "Don't be so bitter. Think of this as a new experience. I mean, come on, it can't be that bad as a girl. I'm a girl right?"

"Yeah, but… it's… not the same." Mousse muttered.

"I know, I know. I'll help you out. We're friends right?" Mousse looked up at Akane in disbelief. "That's right. We might have had our differences in the past, but don't you think we've all become close friends?"

"Well…" Mousse thought about it, but was pulled out of that thought as Shampoo all of a Sudden came crashing down on Ranma's head.

"Nihao, Airen!" Shampoo said cheerfully. "Is Ranma happy to see Shampoo?"

Dread was filling the pit in Mousse's stomach and he clung to Akane's sleeves, dragging her toward the school building. Akane asked what the matter was but Mousse just told her to keep quiet. "You have to hide me!" He whispered to her, hoping that Shampoo would be too busy with Ranma to notice him.

"Why?" Akane whispered back.

"I'll explain later, just get me away from here!" Mousse begged, his eyes stared into her pleadingly. Akane turned to Ranma as she began pushing Mousse into the school.

"Ranma see Mousse?" Shampoo asked casually.

"Well…" Ranma looked up in thought. "Why do you want to know?" He asked, curious all of a sudden as to when she cared where Mousse was or wasn't.

"Oh, no reason." Shampoo replied, hugging Ranma around the neck. "You tell Shampoo if you see Mousse?"

"Now that you mentioned it…" He turned to face Akane who shook her head and mouthed 'no' at him. She must have had a good reason for it and so he went along. "I haven't seen him, but I'll give you a holler if I ever catch sight of him." Shampoo gave him an extra tight squeeze and hopped back on her bicycle. As she peddled away, she blew kisses back at him.

Ranma sauntered over to the school building and entered the double doors, finding Akane and Mousse sitting over at the bleachers inside the Gym with some other students surrounding them. "Why is Shampoo so interested in finding you?" Ranma asked as he sat down. "I thought you'd be jumping with joy."

Mousse looked down sadly at the floor. It was depressing. He didn't really care anymore. Ever since he became a woman, Shampoo was no longer a desirable female warrior. He had only his memories to keep him from completely hating that woman. "Yeah, me too."

"Tell us Mousse, why are you running away from Shampoo?" Akane said softly, patting Mousse on the back.

"They… not only Shampoo, Cologne too, they're going to ship me back to China." He explained, holding the new anger growing in him in check.

"Well, that's a relief, you won't be trying to kill me anymore." Ranma said smiling. He was abruptly smacked on the top of his head with a giant mallet and fell to the floor unconscious.

"Don't be a jerk, Ranma!"

- - - -

See, I said I'd make them nicer this time. It always seems Akane is nice to other people than Ranma XP

Yeah, I got tired near the end…


	3. confusing solutions

Well, I didn't get any replies to that author's note… so… I'm sticking to my use of pronouns. I prefer using the 'he' instead of the 'she'. I don't know, it just doesn't sound right to my ear when I start using 'she' instead of 'he'.

You've all waited patiently!!!

Besides, I told you all that I would upload whenever I felt like it.

- - - -

"I'm dreaming." Mouse stated blankly. "There's no way this could be happening. So it _must_ be a dream." He had his eyes closed. He wished he was dreaming. No matter how much he tried to convince himself that the situation rested only within his imagination, the uncomfortable position he was in kept bringing him back to reality. Giving up, he opened his eyes.

It was dimly lit within the small supply closet that he was sitting in. There were some soft mats under him, but other wise he was leaning against a hard uncomfortable wall. There was light filtering through a small hole on the top of the ceiling which he had made from throwing Kuno's wooden sword through the roof. In fact, that was the only source of light he was receiving.

He'd been in this prison for at least two hours and was ready to get up and stretch. The only problem was that there was no room to stretch, let alone lie down. Looking through the hole in the ceiling, he watched as the clouds began to turn gray. It would probably start to rain soon. Then maybe it would fill up the closet and he'd drown. Maybe lightning would strike the metal roof and cause the whole structure to burn to the ground, including him.

Mousse sighed deeply and shut his eyes. By the time he had calmed down and was ready to sleep, the door was opened and a cool air flew through and over his body. It was definitely going to rain soon.

"Wakey wakey!" Cried Ranma, kicking at his leg.

Mousse glared at his rival and faced away from him. "Go away and leave me alone."

"Fine, if you want to starve." Ranma whistled, twirling a lunch box on his finger tip. "I guess I'll just eat _this_ then?"

"Go ahead."

Ranma frowned. "Oh, come on! Get over it already."

"What is there to get over? Nothing, that's what. I'm perfectly fine. And I'm not hungry either." Mouse replied curtly and flatly.

"Be that way!" Ranma said in a fit of anger and stormed off, only to return with Ukyo, who was wondering what her fiancé was doing leading her to the back of the school. "I'll just have to make you _want_ to eat!" He turned to Ukyo and patted her swiftly on the shoulder. "Make some of your irresistible okonomiyaki!" He instructed.

"Anything for you, Ran-chan!" Ukyo rolled up her sleeves and began slaving away at her portable okonomiyaki grill. With each new ingredient being added, the smell was becoming too much for Mousse. If it wasn't for the sizzling noise, everyone would have heard his stomach growl louder than a lion's roar.

"Can't… give in…" Mousse said to himself. His eyes almost began to water when Ranma all of a sudden waved a fully cooked okonomiyaki in front of his face.

"Come on Mousse, you know you want it." Ranma said smoothly with a knowing look.

"Well…" Mousse was unconsciously leaning towards the warmth but stopped himself. "No! I don't want anything you offer!" He declared as he shoved Ranma's hand away from him. This resulted in Ranma hitting himself in the face with the steaming hot okonomiyaki. He screamed and threw the food to the ground and stuck his face on the cool metal surface of the walls.

He glared at Mousse angrily and looked down at him with puffy cheeks. "Alright, I've had enough. I'll fight you! If you win, you can do what ever you want, I don't care. If I win, you have to let us help you okay?"

"Why?" Mousse asked quizzically. "When did you gain a heart?"

"Since Akane said she'd beat me if I let anything _bad_ happen to you!" Ranma quipped back.

Mousse smirked and chuckled. "Do you always follow her orders like a slave?"

"Yup!" Ukyo responded before Ranma had a chance to react to the insult.

"Ukyo!" Ranma pouted angrily.

Ukyo smiled and laughed softly. "What? It's true isn't it?" She crossed her arms and leaned against the shack. "You know, if you stayed with me, Akane wouldn't be ordering you around so much. I'm a much nicer fiancé, isn't that right?"

"Yeah, that's true." Ranma said thinking over the time spent at the Tendo Dojo.

Ranma found himself face planted into the ground after Akane kneed him in the back of his head.

"I'm sorry for not being a nicer fiancé, but that's not the important issue right now. Ranma! Don't be lazy! Stop lying on the ground and help Mousse!"

Ranma jumped up fuming, but took in a deep breath. "You know what? He doesn't want our help, why should I bother?"

Akane lowered her eyelids frowning. She started to stroll past him and turned around smiling and giggling, catching Ranma off guard. "Okay then, I guess since I don't have to waste my time here, I'll go home and get dinner prepared for tonight!"

Ranma's hairs stood on end. "Wait! I changed my mind!" He turned abruptly to Mousse and pointed a finger at him. "I challenge you Mousse! Prepare to fight!"

- -

Mousse stared across the field at Ranma. He was wearing his red shirt; a target, Mousse decided. Ranma also had a grin planted on that stupid face of his. Mousse eyed him, incensed by the anxiety of the battle. He wondered what the outcome would be, though he was confident in his abilities to beat Ranma. His opponent was different now. Although he had fought Ranma on numerous occasions, Mousse was now female and this was definitely something new.

"I hope you're ready, Mousse." Ranma taunted. "It's hand to hand combat, you know."

"I know!" Mousse replied back agitated by the fact that he didn't have any weapons. He eyed the scene around him. A crowd had formed; most of them decided to have a picnic and show. Of course Ukyo was the only person to profit off of this. Everyone was eating her Okonomiyaki. Those lousy morons. This was all just a show for them. They didn't understand the turmoil he was going through! Moose smirked wickedly. They won't be so happy after they see Ranma beat up to a pulp.

With new vigor, both sides prepared for battle.

No warning was given when Ranma all of a sudden made for a dash towards Mousse. A fist was brought up and thrust at Mousse's body. There was an impact and a cloud of dust rose. When everything cleared, Mousse was nowhere to be found. Ranma looked all around him, but all he saw were his classmates.

"Up here, idiot!" Mousse cried as he plunged to the earth, ready to kick Ranma's face into the dirt. Just as he landed, Ranma jumped away and gained a fair distance between the two.

Mousse was sweating slightly. It wasn't because he was tired or because it was hot, because it was in fact a rather nice day. There was even a nice cooling breeze. But, the point was, Ranma almost got him!! How could he let him get that close? He narrowed his eyes at the Japanese martial artist. He'd just have to show him how ruthless a Chinese Amazon could be!

Mousse leaped at Ranma and started to assault him with kicks, punches, sweeps, and anything he could think of. He was gaining confidence as a swift kick ripped a hole in Ranma's sleeve. His attacks were making Ranma back up into a tough spot, trying to keep away from the audience, yet fighting the crazy Amazon.

Ranma was starting to get rather annoyed. Mousse was dishing out moves so rapidly; it was becoming hard to counter. Rising one of his legs, he caught Mousse in the stomach and quickly gave a one two punch, sending Mousse flying backwards.

Ukyo, from a distance smiled happily at Ranma's comeback. "You go Ran-chan! Show that girl who's boss! Don't let that no good Amazon beat you!"

"Ukyo, don't you think this is a little wrong? We're trying to help Mousse, not kill him." Akane held her hands tightly. She frowned. "Why does Ranma always have to resort to fighting?"

There was a sizzle, and a new presence was made. "He's stupid, that's why." A rough voice replied. Cologne's walking stick was standing straight up on Ukyo's grill, sizzling away as Cologne rested on the top. Shampoo was at her side, watching the fight. "What does that boy think he's doing? Does he know what he's getting himself into?"

"Duck boy is in our way again, Great Grandmother." Shampoo said angrily.

"What are you two doing here?" Akane asked as she stood in front of them. "Are you here to send Mousse back to China?"

"In due time. We have a bigger problem right now. We must stop that battle! This is for son in law's own good." Cologne barked, jumping off of the grill.

"Why? Ran-chan's doing just fine." Ukyo responded as she watched Ranma attempt a heel kick at Mousse. "He's going to win, that's for sure."

"That is problem!" Shampoo said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"What could possibly happen?" Akane asked, half curious, half worried.

"If and outsider defeats an Amazon from our village, she must hunt that person down if the outsider was a woman and kill her, but, if the outsider is a man, then she must hunt him down and marry him. That is our code, and it will not change." Cologne explained.

"We know this… but… Mousse is a guy!" Ukyo said, disbelievingly.

"Yeah, well, Ranma's a guy, but that doesn't stop Kuno, and every other hormone driven male." Ryoga said, surprising everyone with his sudden appearance.

"That is a different story. We may talk about son in law's hobbies some other time; right now, we must focus on the problem. If Ranma defeats Mousse, then Shampoo's engagement will be nullified and Mousse will instead take her place as his fiancé."

Akane looked fearfully at Ranma. He was steadily gaining the upper hand. She shut her eyes, trying to think of ways to prevent that awful fate… for both Ranma _and_ Mousse! "Ranma… you idiot."

- -

Mousse dodged another one of Ranma's high kicks and jumped back to a safer distance. He couldn't keep this up for much longer. Neither of them really had much damage, but the wear and tear of their stamina was something else. He was more agile in a female shape, but more susceptible to injury when a stronger attack came his way. Mousse quickly scanned his surrounding, trying to find a way to prevent his defeat. All he could see were Ranma's school mates eating their okonomiyaki, and hardly paying attention to the fight at all. Then an idea struck his mind.

"Ranma, prepare for your demise!" Mousse hollered as he ran the opposite direction from Ranma. He reached into his sleeves to take out his glasses, and put them on as he raced around the ring of spectators, with dirt trailing behind him.

A large yell of outrage came from the students as they found their food covered in dirt and grass. When everything cleared, Mousse was once again out of sight. This time, Ranma was ready for an airborne attack. He looked up, but was caught off guard when a shower of chopsticks came at him. He quickly split them in half as he ran his hand through them in a slicing movement. The chopsticks landed around him as Mousse threw the second wave.

"This was supposed to be hand to hand!" Ranma yelled as he destroyed the chopsticks in one move. "You're cheating! That automatically means I win!"

Mousse pointed a finger heatedly at Ranma. "Those weapons _are_ my hands. They are a part of me!"

"I don't care! We had an agreement!" Ranma whined.

- -

Overhearing their conversation, Akane tensed up. She turned to Ukyo. "He's going to win! Ukyo, we have to do something!"

"But what?"

"I have a plan!" Akane said as she grabbed some Okonomiyaki. "Ranma! He's right! Weapons _are _a part of him, and you should respect that! Here! Use these!"

Akane threw the okonomiyaki, aiming for all his vital areas. Instead of catching them, Ranma was forced to dodge them. Ukyo, understanding Akane's motives, began making more okonomiyaki.

As an okonomiyaki flew over his head, Ranma shouted angrily at the girls. "Are you trying to help me or what!? Get some _aim_ Akane! You're aim is worse than Ryoga's sense of direction!!" With those words said, he found himself hit in the face with a piping hot okonomiyaki, which just happened to be on fire.

In an instant, his whole body was inflamed and he ran around like a madman.

"Here, Ran-chan!" Ukyo shouted as she threw a bucket of water over Ranma's head.

Ranma took the bucket off and threw it aside. He glared at them, now soaking wet, and a woman. "Thanks a lot… guys."

Ukyo smiled happily. "No problem honey!"

Ranma growled and turned back to face Mousse. He might have been disgruntled, but that didn't mean he still couldn't beat Mousse. "Hmph, I'm the heir to the anything goes martial arts, and I guess," he said, charging towards Mousse, "Anything goes!!"

Ranma attempted to take Mousse down with middle turning kick when Mousse suddenly countered with a butterfly kick hitting him square in the cheek. Ranma landed a fair distance away, rubbing the soreness from his face. "Oww…" Ranma stood up, dusted himself, and tightened his loosening belt. "This'll be harder as a girl…"

Ranma was more confident in his abilities as a woman than Mousse. He was quite sure that Mousse stood no chance against him. Besides, he had the time to practice. Ranma had often trained in female form just in case incidents like this occurred. By focusing on his short comings as a woman, Ranma understood his body more. Mousse had only what… a few days? Ranma had months of experience, and experience pays off handsomely.

The battle went on for another hour, both sides panting heavily as they rested on their knees. Ranma frowned, whispering, irritated, to himself. "Why is this taking so long?!" Then he sighed heavily. He had been going easy on him the whole time.

Mousse slowly stood up, sweat dripping down his face. Mousse had pride in himself, but he wasn't so hubris as to not know when to throw in the towel. That didn't mean he was going to forfeit anytime soon, especially to Ranma.

He reached out his hand to Ranma and tried to smile nicely. "Truce?"

Ranma watched Mousse's eyes skeptically. He knew Mousse could pull some sneaky stunts in hopes to drive Ranma into a false sense of security. Ranma wasn't stupid, and he was wondering if Mousse thought he was. Ranma didn't take the hand but stood up all the same. "You mean as a draw?"

"Uh, yeah. If you think you can make room in the ego inflated head of yours for a draw." Mousse stepped back one step, never easing himself in case Ranma decided to pull a stunt over him. He did feel a little better however; when they both were girls, Mousse was still taller, though, not by much. It was still comforting.

--

"What's happening?" Akane asked worriedly as she couldn't make out what the two fighters were saying.

"Mousse is losing." Shampoo said simply.

"What…? How?" Akane turned to face Shampoo, but she was no longer standing next to her, instead she was halfway through the air to the other two martial artists. Before she knew it, Shampoo and landed a kick on Mousse's back and he fell forward.

--

The wind was knocked out of him. He turned around on his back to find Shampoo literally clinging on to Ranma. She cooed on how he was victorious and had beaten the weakling Mousse. It wasn't in Mousse's nature to stay angry at Shampoo for too long, but his insides boiled as he watched her.

He reminded himself of her beauty, skill, and his love for her. If he didn't care anymore, who was he then? He wouldn't have a point to his life as of current and would probably have been better off going back to China. Then he remembered how he enjoyed it here.

First thing first:

GET AWAY FROM SHAMPOO AND COLOGNE!

When this was all over, he'll be head over heels for Shampoo again and everyone will be back to normal. The question was, for how long would this last?

His brain was spinning with his thoughts. He needed to turn back into a man, and to do that, he had to trek back to the cursed springs in Jusenkyo, which was back in China, and he was supposedly avoiding China, right? But then, if he stayed in Nerima, then he would always be this way, wrong in every sense possible. He knew what he had to do, but it was all so unclear to him. What was he supposed to do exactly?

He decided to stop thinking on this topic before he brain exploded and turned his attention to one thing.

He needed help.

And he sighed.

- - - -

Hey, I finished this! I started this chapter a while back, and just… didn't know what to do with it half way through. It looks like I BSed it all the way to the end!

You know, I kind of miss the Ryoga from chapter 1. I made him so weak to pretty girls :D And how he confused you readers into thinking it'll be a Ryoga/Mousse. haha.


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